The state of Florida is seeing an explosion in unaffiliated voters, many of them young and Hispanic, who are deserting the two major parties in droves and altering the composition of the electorate in the third-largest state. Within a decade, some experts predict, Florida will be a “triple-parity” state, with equal numbers of Republicans, Democrats and NPAs, or voters with no party affiliation.
The implications for democracy are significant, starting with the fact that Florida is a “closed primary” state where NPA voters are prohibited from casting ballots in party primaries. Since 1995, the percentage of NPA voters in Florida has grown by 300 percent and it shows no sign of stopping.